


Time after Time

by BlackWidowMistress



Category: The Newsroom (US TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-09-24
Updated: 2013-09-24
Packaged: 2017-12-27 12:44:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/979057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackWidowMistress/pseuds/BlackWidowMistress
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Leona sighed and walked to the kitchen, her fingers reaching for the phone.  “I know it’s not that simple, you don’t just have a disagreement and come home with half your face swollen, bruised and bloodied” She said shaking her head. “I’m calling Charlie to come over and talk to you, man to man” She added as she grabbed the phone and dialled the number she knew by heart.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Time after Time

**Author's Note:**

> Part 1.  
> I own nothing except the plot, as always. I don't know how this happened except I seem to have a pretty huge love of pre-canon Charlie / Leona, go figure! I do like reviews and kudos and whatever else you want to give me though!

Leona Lansing stood in the door way of the living room, her hands on her hips and her eyes forming an icy glare aimed at her son as he held the ice pack to his face. The bruising coming up a deep purple and the swelling, causing him to grimace in pain as he tried to close his eye. 

“I’ll ask you again” She said, her words cold and demanding “What happened Reese? I need to know” She continued, her eye brow rising in a questioning manner as he shook his head. 

“Nothing mum, nothing happened” He said shrugging before wincing from the pain in the side of his face. 

“Nothing?” She questioned, running a hand through her hair, “Don't you tell me it's nothing Reese, you and I both know that’s bull shit! I can't deal with this; I've had your father screaming down the phone at me all afternoon and you come home like this? And you won't tell me why you're like this? She said; her voice low and angry “You have a fucking black eye!” She continued frustrated at the dark haired teenager. 

Reese winced “Honestly Mum, it’s nothing, I just had a disagreement with one of the guys” He replied. 

Leona sighed and walked to the kitchen, her fingers reaching for the phone. “I know it’s not that simple, you don’t just have a disagreement and come home with half your face swollen, bruised and bloodied” She said shaking her head. “I’m calling Charlie to come over and talk to you, man to man” She added as she grabbed the phone and dialled the number she knew by heart. 

Reese looked at her, a frown forming on his face. “You don’t have to get Charlie involved” He said hoping she’d put the phone down so he wouldn’t have to explain it all to the older man. 

Leona looked at him once more before bringing the receiver to her ear “Too late” She mouthed at her son as she heard the gruff male voice on the other end. 

-

Charlie sighed as he flicked through the pages of writing, the pen falling to the desk as he reached out to answer the ringing phone, his spare hand clutching a glass of bourbon.

“Charlie” He answered the phone gruffly as he eyed the unfinished papers on his desk. 

“Hey Charlie” A female voice drawled, causing him to grin. 

“Hey to you too Leona” He replied as he lent back on the chair and took a sip of the bourbon, “What can I do for you?” He asked causing her to grin this time. 

She sighed heavily before she finally spoke. “Do you think; you could maybe swing by here a bit later?” She asked her back resting against the wall of the kitchen. 

Charlie smirked “I didn’t think I’d ever get a call from you asking that” He said jokingly. 

Leona chuckled slightly before sobering “I wish I could say I was calling for that; but I need you to come and have a chat to Reese” She said softly, her voice relaying her exhaustion. “If, that’s okay with you? That is. ” She added afterwards; mentally berating herself for just jumping into it.

Charlie smiled and took another sip of bourbon. “I have a few things to finish up here and then I can be there in about half an hour” he replied. “You know, I’d do anything for you two right?” He asked as he heard her breathe a sigh of relief. 

Her lips curved into a smile as she responded. “Yeah... I know; did you wanna stay for dinner? I can order pizza”. 

“Yeah” He said softly, his voice low and gentle; “How about I pick up the pizza on the way?” He suggested. 

“Sounds good to me” She replied. 

Charlie pondered for a moment as a comfortable silence between the two of them filtered through the phone line. “What exactly did Reese do?” He asked, curiosity getting the best of him. 

“He got into a fight and he won’t tell me why; he’s got two stitches in his eyebrow and the whole side of his face is swollen and bruised and his lips all bloody... he won’t talk to me, so I thought maybe; just maybe he’d talk to you” She answered tentatively, her front teeth biting into her bottom lip nervously as she waited for a reply.  
He straightened up slightly in the chair, his finger wrapping a little tighter around the glass as he processed the information. “Half an hour, I’ll bring pizza for dinner and a bottle of scotch and I’ll have a talk to him” He said looking at his watch and seeing the time. The sun starting to set outside leaving an orange glow across the city as the day drew nearer to an end. 

“Thanks Charlie” She murmured softy into the phone. 

“No problem, bye Leona” He replied. 

“Bye; Charlie” She said before hanging up the phone and peering around the corner at her son who was lent back on the couch with the ice pack still against the side of his face. 

-

Reese groaned as Leona pulled the ice pack away from his face. “Mum!” He half whined as he shut his open eye tightly from the pain. 

“Shouldn’t go getting into fights if you don’t want me to check it; Charlie should be here soon, hopefully you’ll tell him what happened” She said; murmuring the last bit to herself more so than him. 

“It’s not as bad as your making it out to be” He said wincing as she wiped a piece of cloth with antiseptic over his eyebrow. 

“Mhmmm, a split lip; a black eye and two stitches in your eyebrow, is what you have. Doesn’t look to me like I’m over reacting at all” She replied before standing up and handing him another ice pack. “Wrap it in the tea towel and put it on your face” She said walking off to the bathroom to put the first aid kit away. 

-

Charlie frowned slightly as he walked up the drive way, the cab pulling out behind him; he’d made a detour after work down the road to the Italian restaurant and picked up a pizza and he’d grabbed a bottle of scotch out of his office draw. Wasn’t like he really needed another bottle at work anyway, and calming Leona down was a much better need for it, than him being frustrated and angry at everything with work and life. He knocked on the door once, the frown turning into a small grin as he heard Reese’s voice. 

“Mum!” The boy yelled a slight wince of pain as he moved the ice pack from his face. 

“What?” She called from the hallway as she came walking out past the kitchen. 

Reese sighed “There’s someone at the door, it’s probably Charlie seeing as he’s coming over”. He answered in a slightly annoyed tone. 

The brunette woman looked over to the door and saw the dark headed man standing on the outside of the screen door with a pizza box in one hand and a bottle of scotch in the other. 

“I’m here” He said half shrugging, a lop sided grin on his face causing her to smile widely. 

“Hey, about time” She said jokingly as she flicked the latch on the door and opened it for him, taking the pizza from him as he walked in. “Come with me and we’ll go dish this out” She added walking off in front of him. 

Charlie put the bottle of scotch down on the bench and walked over to the glassware cupboard and pulled out two of the glass tumblers she owned. The glass clinking on the bench top as he put them down and filled them both, before passing one to her. 

“You know I don’t really drink these days....” She trailed off and he knew she meant after the court case and the divorce and the couple of nights she’d sent Reese to his grandparents place and she’d ended up sleeping in Charlie’s bed after a few too many wines. 

“And you’re stressed as all fuck Leona, you have to have a break some time and you’re not, you’re going to break and I don’t want to see that happen” He sighed as he pulled her to him, her face burying into his chest as she inhaled his scent, his chin resting on her head. “And I’m pretty sure that even if he is a bit of an idiot sometimes with what he does, and a little bit arrogant with what he says, that the boy in the lounge room whom I know you love beyond measure, doesn’t want a thing to happen to you” He added, his hold on her tightening slightly as he fingers pulled the edge of his shirt and fumbled with the fabric. 

Leona sighed heavily into his chest as she listened to the words; the exhaustion of the day finally catching up to her as she slumped against his chest a little more. “Maybe you’re right” She murmured against the shirt, his fingers tracing a pattern along her back under her blouse. “Might be good for me to relax a little” She added smiling as she pulled back from him and grabbing the glass. 

He smiled at her once more before turning and pulling out three plates. “I suppose we should eat” He said opening the box of pizza and serving it out.  
“Probably” She smirked as she grabbed her plate and Reese’s and took it to the living room with her, Charlie trailing behind with his plate and her glass of scotch. 

-

Reese groaned as he placed the fresh ice pack his mother handed him; against his face, the swelling having gone down marginally. 

“That’s a pretty nasty eye, Reese” Charlie started, as Leona walked off to the kitchen with a pile of plates and the empty glasses. 

“Yeah, what’s your point?” Reese retorted annoyed at the older man. 

Charlie sighed, as he leant back on the couch a little more and turned to look at the boy. “My point is this Reese; your mother has given up a lot for you, so she’s naturally worried about you with the whole divorce thing to begin with, but she gets even more worried when she comes home to find you with a black eye and stitches!” He said causing the younger man to pull the ice pack off of his face and look at him. 

“It’s... it’s not like that, Charlie” Reese said; reaching up to touch his lip and feeling the crusted blood from the split. “They said some things they shouldn’t have” He said shrugging as he spoke trying to convince Charlie it was nothing. 

Charlie raised an eyebrow “What was it they were saying?”

The other man sighed before finally speaking. “They called Mum a whore; said the whole reason Dad was divorcing her was because she’d been fucking another guy in the journalism department and that they’d heard it off their parents”. 

Charlie stared at him for a moment; his eyes wide with shock at what Reese had just explained. “Did they say anything else?” He asked angrily. 

Reese shook his head and sighed “I would have let it go; but she’s mum and I couldn’t, we both know she hasn’t been with anyone while she was married to Dad and that it was him who cheated. Something just snapped and I punched them and ended up getting punched back, I shouldn’t have but I did” He said softly.

Charlie nodded a frown coming across his face as he saw Leona walk towards the living room. “Would you give me a moment Reese, I’ll be back” He said getting up off the couch as the boy nodded acquiescing. 

-

“Hey, how’s it going?” Leona asked him as he walked up to her, the patent lopsided smirk on his features. 

“Not bad; just having a friendly man to man chat with him” Charlie replied motioning to the boy in the other room. 

She smiled at the reply, “That’s good... right?”

“Yeah Lee, it’s good” He answered, his fingers reaching out to caress her face; “You look exhausted” He commented. 

“I feel it, today has just been one of those days” She murmured, her eyes fluttering closed under his touch. 

“How about this; you go have a bath and spend as much time as you want and just relax, and I’ll have a chat to Reese, try and suss out what’s really happened” He suggested to her, “He looks dog tired and I suspect he’ll crash as soon as he’s given his next pain killer dose” He added causing the lightened brunette to arch an eyebrow. 

“And how do you know that?” She asked curiously. 

Charlie shrugged, “Think of it as experience from me getting into one too many fights when I was younger”. 

“Fair enough then” She said shrugging as she turned to walk off “You talk to him and I’ll be in my bathroom” She said waving her hand over her shoulder “I’ll see you in forty minutes or so” She added; her hips swaying in the pencil skirt she wore as she walked off. 

-

Charlie sat back on the couch and rested a foot on the coffee table in front of him, a moment of silence passing before he turned to look at the boy who had removed the ice pack and was now gently prodding a swollen face. 

“You don’t want Mum to hear what was said, do you?” Reese asked suddenly, a small frown on his face. 

The older man shook his head and sighed “She doesn’t need to know the whole lot of it” He said causing Reese to quirk an eyebrow in a way similar to what his mother had done just minutes before. “I’ll tell her you got into a fight defending her in regards to the divorce; but I’m not telling her what they said”. 

Reese nodded in agreement. “It’d really hurt her wouldn’t it, Charlie?” He asked genuinely. 

“Yeah; it would and she’d be even madder at herself than anyone else because she’d think she brought this on somehow” He replied looking over at the boy; his hand reaching out and gripping the other mans shoulder. “I’d have done the same thing though” He said grinning. 

Reese chuckled “Yeah, you’ve always been there for her and for me too, I guess” he added. 

“She’s a special lady” Charlie replied shrugging the comment off. “You said those kids heard the rumours of their parents; who are their parents?” Charlie asked curiously as he grabbed the remote and flicked the TV onto a football game; his eyes glancing up at the clock and realising Leona would be out in ten minutes. 

Reese shrugged “I think one them has a mum who works in journalism for one of the magazines; and someone else has a parent working in marketing somewhere; but Mum’s a hot topic in the social circles apparently, no matter who you are” He sighed. 

“Just remember what I said okay? Don’t tell her what you don’t have to” He said getting up off the couch. “I’m going to go have a talk to her; she hasn't come out yet so I’m going to go make sure she’s okay, you alright out here?”

“Yeah, I’m fine” Reese nodded as he motioned for the older man to leave him be “Go cheer her up like you usually do” He added causing Charlie to chuckle and shake his head.


End file.
